Photo courtesy of Alan CohenAlan Cohen on your life's work: "Deep inside, you know what you want to do."

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Ex-public relations man Alan Cohen has had such interesting jobs -- at Scholastic Books, he was publicity chief just as Harry Potter was materializing -- he'd like to see workplace satisfaction become epidemic.

Today, the former Staten Islander is the principal of Acts of Balance, which sounds like a high-wire academy, not a jobs program. He's become a career coach.

What that entails, according to www.actsofbalance.com, "is not unlike having a personal trainer or an athletic coach ... transformational, but in a business and personal sense."

Cohen grew up in West Brighton, graduated from Susan Wagner High School in 1979 and studied English and theater at Connecticut College.

Afterward, he worked for the Goodspeed Opera House in Connecticut. Back in the city, he moved into upscale PR, with companies like Rogers and Cowan and Robinson Lerer Montgomery (where he worked on AOL's "Find A Job" service).

He obtained his career-coaching credentials at the Institute for Professional Empowerment Coaching, based in Shewsbury, N.J., and launched Acts of Balance last year. Last week, he conceded the obvious. The downturn has been good for business.

Q. With unemployment skyrocketing, business must be good?
A. Now more than ever there is a need for coaching. The world is suffering from a real identity crisis, with people defining themselves by what they do -- then losing their jobs and feeling that they have no identify.

We are not our jobs. Our jobs ideally are one way of expressing our purpose.

My business is strong right now, with lots of professionals seeking coaching to help them get energized, focused and motivated, and to create opportunities for themselves.

I want my clients to be a cause of the turnaround, not an effect of the crisis.

Q. Do you actually find work/new careers for clients, or is it a matter of motivating/helping them to do it themselves?
A. My job as a coach is to help motivate my clients to envision the kind of life that they want to have for themselves, and the career that will help them be most satisfied.

Deep within them, they all know what they want to do -- the answers are there -- it is just a matter of focusing them. You want to challenge the client and get out of their own way.

Many have blocks, self-limiting beliefs and assumptions that impede them from going after their dreams. I help remove the blocks and set them into positive action.

Q. Say someone purchases your guidance, but it quickly becomes apparent that his/her dreams are crazy or far-fetched. How do you handle it?
A. Generally, if someone is thinking about something, it is achievable. If it weren't possible, they probably would never have thought of it -- my clients are high-functioning professionals who are very rational.

Rarely has anyone brought something to me that seemed crazy or far-fetched. My job as a coach is to challenge them about why they want what they think they want, and to help them create a plan to get there.

Often, that means doing some assessment work around values, wants vs. needs. Often the goal is really the feeling that they think they will achieve by getting a certain job, or having a certain experience.

Q. Baby Boomers are notorious for reinventing themselves late in the game. What portion of your clientele are Boomers (age 45 to 63)?
A. Yes, indeed, most of my clients fall into that age range. They are the "cultural creatives," who really see the value of having a coach.

With all of my clients, I employ the Core Energy Coaching Process, which is uniquely constructed by iPEC, the Institute for Professional Empowerment Coaching.

It is a breakthrough intervention that is primarily employed by trained professionals for the purpose of assisting others to achieve extraordinary results in their businesses and in their lives.

Q. Publishing, car sales, real estate, banking, auto industry: Droves of people in these lines of work could be shopping any minute now for a new way to make a living. Your advice?
A. Stay focused, look for opportunity, learn new skills; this is just a bump in the road. Be a part of the solution. Stay out of your head, and keep active. Preparation is key -- this too shall pass!

Q. In your world, where careers are paramount, is "retirement" the dirtiest of dirty words?
A. If you love what you do, why retire? Most people only think about retirement because they come from a belief that work has to be difficult -- then they actualize that belief. My job is to help people have career freedom, by doing what they love, and excelling at whatever it is.

Alan Cohen will help lead a workshop, "Winning Your Career Game: The New Rules," April 20 from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at TRS Inc., 44 E. 32nd St., 11th floor, Manhattan. Register ($20) by visiting www.careerintervention.com/win.